One of the consequences of the Williamsport area being the “Lumber Capital of the World” was that many industries allied to lumber also took hold here. One of the most important was the leather tanning industry.

The leather tanning industry arose because tree bark at one time was necessary for the tanning of leather, and there was, of course, an ample supply of tree bark in this area.

There were tanneries located all over Lycoming County in places such as Jersey Shore, Ralston, Hughesville, Upper Fairfield Township, Proctor, Muncy, and of course, Williamsport.

According to C. Daniel Little in the October 1966 issue of Now and Then, a publication of the Muncy Historical Society, the tanning industry appeared in the Susquehanna Valley shortly before 1800. It employed hundreds, if not thousands, of people and also created towns. It was a hard life for workers who toiled in it.

Thomas Updegraff established the first tannery in Williamsport around 1800 in the area near the present-day Market Square.

Other tanneries were also established in Williamsport, but the most important and most enduring were those established by the Mosser family.

J.K Mosser established his tannery in 1876; by the time his plant in Newberry reached its full capacity, it covered 14 acres and had an annual output of more than 100,000 finished hides. It had 365 vats and more than 275 employees.

In 1914 the company was acquired by the Armour Leather Company and operated until the mid-1960s. It became the world’s largest cut sole factory.

Joseph H. Mosser came from Clearfield County and was a relative of J.K. Mosser. According to a 1951 Grit article, he came to Williamsport in 1916 to work at J.K. Mosser/Armour Leather as a plant superintendent.

In the autumn of 1934, Joseph H. Mosser took over the Krouse Leather Company located at the rear of 510 Fifth Avenue. He formed the J.H. Mosser Leather Company, which operated at that location until about 1965, shortly after Mosser’s death in 1964.

What was manufactured at the three-story Mosser facility on Fifth Avenue was described as “whole leather and diversified leather specialties.”

Among the items they manufactured were sheaths for various-sized knives, axes, folding machetes, pistol holsters, straps for roller and ice skates, pockets for pool tables, and any number of other leather items.

Mosser products were sold in about 75 percent of the U.S., predominately east of the Mississippi River.

At the height of its operation J.H. Mosser turned out 50,000 to 75,000 knife sheaths per week.

The 1951 Grit article described the manufacturing process at the Mosser plant. The leather hides were washed and thoroughly cleaned, and a fat liquor was added to them, converting them to soft and flexible strap leather. After being dried out, they were pounded and smoothed by presses. If they were to be used for various leather products at the plant, they were cut out on machines with dies. Mosser’s had 14 machines to cut out different patterns, using thousands of different dies. Later they were sewed, riveted, and creased together on various machines and then inspected before shipment.

Very little leather was wasted; even small pieces were used for straps and tiny loops. At its height of operation, J.H. Mosser employed between 85 and 110 persons, producing a yearly payroll of between $200,000 and $250,000.

Today’s leather companies are much more automated, and the number of tanneries is just a fraction of what it once was across not only this region but across the country.

After J.H. Mosser’s went out of business, the Rall Company had a warehouse at that location, and this warehouse was destroyed by fire in the early 1970s.